diff --git a/net/sched/cls_api.c b/net/sched/cls_api.c
index c47d2ee13641..a9f54988561f 100644
--- a/net/sched/cls_api.c
+++ b/net/sched/cls_api.c
@@ -2463,7 +2463,20 @@ replay:
 	}
 
 errout:
-	if (err && tp_state == TP_CREATED)
+	if (err && !IS_ERR_OR_NULL(tp) &&
+	    (tp_state == TP_CREATED || tp->ops->delete_empty))
+		/*
+		 * The request is dropping its reference to tp. If it was
+		 * the last user (the idr is empty now), reclaim the proto.
+		 * A tp this request created is reclaimed unconditionally:
+		 * it is the only owner, so marking it for deletion is
+		 * safe. Otherwise only classifiers with a delete_empty
+		 * callback are reclaimed -- the callback admits an empty
+		 * proto only, so a live shared proto is never unlinked.
+		 * Classifiers without one (deleting is set
+		 * unconditionally) are rtnl-serialized, so the raced
+		 * window this guard closes cannot arise for them.
+		 */
 		tcf_chain_tp_delete_empty(chain, tp, rtnl_held, NULL);
 errout_tp:
 	if (chain) {